Denouement
by alwayswritewithcoffee
Summary: He's left sitting on a swing in the park that has shaped so very much of his adult life. Rick can't remember how they decided that these swings were theirs, that every significant moment of their relationship needed to play out with them as a witness. One shot of what could be the final scene of Castle.


_A/N: A concept of what the final scene of the show could be. Previously posted on my tumblr._

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The anticipation has left him breathless, leaving behind nothing but nerves that make Rick's skin feel like its going to crawl off his bones. Kate is almost annoyingly punctual with everything that she can control, habits ingrained from years of early mornings and weekends on call that often leave her canceling or delaying with other portions of her life. Punctuality is a trait he doesn't share with his wife after years of needing to be on time for everything as a single father morphing into a man who is rather fluid about day to day life. So Kate running behind and leaving him stuck tracing letters in the dirt under his feet is almost comical.

Or maybe that's the excitement. Or hysteria. Maybe in the massive amount of life milestones that have happened in the past week he's finally lost it. It'd be about time for it, might even make this hazy day-dream life they've been living seem more real.

The early May breeze is warm, enough humidity hanging in the air to promise a sticky, hot summer, but cool enough that Castle is not quite desperate for the quiet of the Hamptons estate and the relaxation of an afternoon in the pool or lounging with a good book. No, that will come with the approaching holiday weekend, making itself known when the urge to evacuate the city they love strikes them both nearly in tandem.

As it is, he's left sitting on a swing in the park that has shaped so very much of his adult life. Rick can't remember how they decided that these swings were theirs, that every significant moment of their relationship needed to play out with them as a witness. It was unconsciously done, some general consent that this was their spot, the official physical manifestation of their transition from friends to lovers to life partners. And he isn't a dumb man, he knows his wife, her love of symbolic gestures and mementos. So for Kate to ask him to meet her on their swings in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon in May….

Well, he's breathless with anticipation, crackling with energy as he searches for a sign of her familiar form, lost in thoughts of the abrupt turns their life has taken. His daughter about to begin graduate work in England, his mother in a supporting role off-Broadway, his father-in-law spending three months working in International Law in Asia. It's left Rick feeling off-kilter, at odds with his tiny and wonderful universe as it is turned upside down.

That was without a tap for promotion for his wife, his own budding wrestling match with putting Nikki and Rook to rest, pursuing other avenues. He has a burgeoning idea for a kids series, a real interest into exploring things that are less thriller, more introspective, and the support from Black Pawn to delve into what they mean.

Letting go of Nikki feels as if he is closing the book of the best part of his life, save for Alexis. It's a ridiculous notion because Rick knows that his marriage and his life extends far beyond the novels, but though he's put a marked distance between their fictional counterparts and their own life since their marriage, it's still close to home.

"Castle, hey," Kate's voice is soft, jerking his head up from a careful study of the ground to get a look at his wife. It's not a surprise that she's beautiful, but after eight years of Kate Beckett, he's delighted to still feel the butterflies and excitement of the knowledge that she chose to love him. There's never a day where he isn't stunned and devoutly thankful for it.

"Hi," he replies, a lopsided smile curving at his lips when Kate sinks down onto her swing, lightly pushing off from the ground so that she moves back and forth. On her fourth pass she manages to snag his hand, pulling him into the same motion, encouraging Rick to follow the lazy rocking pattern she's put into action.

They stay like that for several minutes, floating along with the breeze, listening to the bustle of Manhattan and the chirp of a family of birds that the spotted in a tree during his wait. As comfortable as the silence is, as content as he might be to while away the afternoon on a swing set with the love of his life, he simply can't be satisfied by that today.

Castle is a man who likes answers. And Kate's apparent reluctance to share them, her need to tease him to distraction with silence is driving him insane.

"Beckett," The use of her maiden name is calculated, and she knows it, her eyes cutting across to meet his in a clear display of her amusement. These days she's generally only Beckett at work, when he needs to get her attention or in times of high emotion, though he still remains Castle for nearly every situation where it applies. "Can you just tell me…"

"If I got the promotion?" she asks, grinning at him, fingers unlinking from his to drop to her pocket, pulling out the smooth black leather of the wallet that holds her badge. And she extends it to him without a word, stopping her trek on the swing with one stiletto planted firmly into the dirt, rising to her full height as he flips the cover open.

The shield resting inside is new, larger in size and with a sharp asymmetrical top that resembles the crown that Lady Liberty wears on her head in the harbor rather than the beveled edge of the badge he has seen countless times over the years. And the numbers are gone, no longer is there a familiar 41319 stamped across the bottom. Instead, the badge reads captain in gold capital letters, making no mistake of who she is.

His wife is the new captain of the twelfth precinct. She's replacing Victoria Gates when she moves to Deputy Inspector.

There's a moment of stunned silence, one where all he can do is stare at the badge and then up to Kate and then to the badge before he springs up from the swing to wrap her into a hug, lifting Kate from the ground as she kisses him full on the mouth.

It feels right for her to have this, for this transition to take place amid all the other changes in life and Rick finds himself overwhelmed with it all. The excitement for Kate, the subconscious release of his hold on Nikki and Rook that will later make complete sense as he sits to pen their final adventure, it's a culmination of years of work and trust and though it means the end of his time as her shadow Castle is unspeakably proud of her.

He's still in the midst of telling her, watching Kate duck her head and blush lightly under his words and gaze. The words pour from him without ceasing, on and on until she finally touches a hand to his mouth, exasperation and amusement in her eyes. "Babe, there's more."

Castle doesn't get a moment to prepare after that, the badge being traded for a white square of paper that's full of coding and numbers. Kate's name is listed at the top, their address and other basic information which he dismisses, eyes scanning the text to find whatever it is she wants him to see.

He gets there right as her patience runs out, wedding ring glinting in the sunlight as she points at the final line on the paper, the line that steals his breath and brings tears to his eyes when he reads 'Test result: Positive for pregnancy.'

The smile on Kate's face is serene and a little shy, the edges of it threatening to curl into a full blown grin when he chances a look at her. Already the pieces of the puzzle are clicking together; the lingering exhaustion and sickness that she insisted had been prompted by the stress of her then upcoming civil exams, the way she would still take the coffee he offered at the precinct but only drink small sips when his eyes swiveled in her direction.

And two weeks ago, when she'd spent a whole day in bed, entrusting Esposito and Ryan to follow up on active leads for their case. He'd thought about broaching the subject then, but had backed off, content to trust that his wife would know if there were a reason to suspect.

"This is…Kate…" still Rick is at a loss for words, lips forming vowels and consonants that lack sound, his stunned brain wholly unable to quickly come to terms with this incredible news. But where Kate has learned to depend on words, he has become a man who sees symbolism in action, stepping forward to pull her in for a kiss. The way his hands bracket her waist, fingers resting low on her abdomen is an unconscious move, but one that prompts a laugh from the woman in front of him, her own fingers squeezing in the spaces between his own.

"We're gonna have a baby, Castle," she whispers, mouth stretching wide, eyes twinkling in happiness that he easily matches.

And he kisses her again, light and sweet, both of them chuckling as foreheads and noses brush, the wind lifting the ends of her hair to lightly tickle across Kate's skin.

The silence stretches on for a few seconds, joined hands hanging against the still flat plane of her stomach before the trill of a phone carries across the light breeze. The pop of her maiden name into the speaker as she answers is a familiar gesture, one that delivers another besotted grin on his face, fingers again tracing small circles over the soft fabric of her top. Already his brain is conjuring up images of a tiny little person hibernating between layers of muscle and bone, of the amazing and wonderful concept that the woman he loves is currently housing the continuation of their family.

It's enough to make him a little teary eyed, again.

"Four hundred seventy Wooster Street, yeah, we'll be right there," Kate says, lips quirking in a smile in easy response to his grin, the now disconnected call prompting her to drop her phone into her jacket pocket, "Last case, Rick, you coming?"

She's already on the move, heels clicking rapidly against the sidewalk. Catching up to Beckett speed is nothing new, but Rick is pleased that he doesn't have to go far. His wife has stopped, that same slow smile printed on her face as she watches him jog towards her, taking the extra few seconds to pull her in again, to touch their mouths together for another tiny burst of contact.

"Always."


End file.
